Dear Amy,

If you could take only one chapter of the Bible with you to a desert island, which would you choose?

Without a doubt, my pick would be Ephesians Chapter One. I cannot possibly do the whole chapter justice in this short letter, so for now let’s consider just one verse. (I may have to return to the wider chapter another time. Perhaps several times!)

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you …

― Ephesians 1:17

How would you complete that prayer?

… may be able to make good choices in your life? … may be able to discern his will for you? … may be able to better understand what is happening around you?

In fact, none of these! Paul asks this of the Lord so that you “… may know him better.”

That you may know the Lord better! This is what the Spirit of wisdom and revelation is for. That I may know him better. To know and be known, this is the ultimate in relationship. But how can we possibly know the infinite, everlasting, majestic God, creator of the ends of the earth, of the universe? It’s impossible to know such a one, surely, with our finite minds, with our sinful hearts. And yet, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation makes the impossible, possible.

As we marvel at this, let us notice that this is not a small thing Paul asks for. He keeps asking, persisting in prayer for the stuff that really matters. Keep asking, Amy, for the stuff that matters.

The one he keeps asking is God, the glorious Father. He is glorious, and it is glorious that he is our father. He is the source of all that is good, and he is kind and generous beyond measure.

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, Amy, so that you may know him better! 🙏